Writers to the newspapers, 1914.

Are Miners Superstitious? A Corner for Readers' Own Contributions.

Sir. -- It would, of course, be very unfair to single out miners for distinction in the matter of superstition. The great majority are intelligent, brave fellows, who have shared in the enlightenment which education generally has shed amongst all classes. But miners like many other men, have their beliefs in the supernatural. In many mining districts it is considered unlucky to be going to the mine and meet a woman on the road before a man; unlucky to meet a cat but fortunate to meet a dog. In some (about  Cumberland, Lancashire and Warwickshire, and probably others, for miners sometimes shift from place to place), there is a strong dislike to hearing whistling in the mine; even the youngest boys are forbidden to whistle. A flock of birds (such as seagulls) is held as a bad omen if they scream or "whistle" around the pit mouth, an explosion being almost sure to follow at no distant date!

In Cornwall, certain holidays are insisted upon. To enter the mine on any of these days would be followed by some misfortune - not only Christmas and Good Friday, but Holy Innocents' Day, the first Friday in March, and St Piran's Day (the 5th day of March, whether a Friday or not), the Saint in his time having given some valuable information about mining and preparation of tin.

But in this country and Germany certain mines (like houses) are said to be haunted, and certain "spells" are observed. Needless to add, the horse-shoe is "lucky" both in the mine and the home. Herein the miner, of course, is not singular.
I am, &c., W.S.K., Aberdeen.


Sir. -- Granting that the average miner is more superstitious than most people, can we altogether blame him? Every time he descends into the bowels of the earth he virtually carries his life in his hand. He gropes in the darkness, surrounded by comparatively little known forces. Notwithstanding what science has been able to do to ensure his safety, accidents in the mine are of very frequent occurrence. Is it not only natural that at times he should feel nervous or timorous? Miners may be a rough lot here and there, but the average miner is no coward in the face of known danger. It is only the unknown or "supernatural" that shakes him. Can others throw stones at mines? While pretending to despise such things, many educated people ahve their own private superstitions. Many ladies carry charms; Football Clubs have their mascots; authors, warriors, &c., believe in lucky days of the week or month, and what of some of our ridiculous customs at marriages, giving luck pennies, and what not! Although life at sea is much safer than of yore, when mariners were at the mercy of the winds, sailors are inclined to be superstitious to this day.

 Superstition is supposed to be associated with ignorance, and very often it is. I spent some years in Coatbridge and other mining parts of Lanarkshire, and certainly came across some miners who could not sign their own name. But more often it is a question of temperament. Personally I know a good few fairly well educated folks in other ranks who still cling to superstitions which I can only characterise as far more absurd than that of the hardy, heroic miner.
I am, &c., A.W.R.

Dundee People's Journal, 4th July 1914.